Chapter Summaries

Jiraiya, Tsunade, and their allies fought their way through the Cloud Ninja ambush, while the Third Hokage realized Cloud Hidden was trying to seize Konoha’s communication equipment and aircraft. After the battle, Shin finished studying Konoha’s authentic Book of Sealing and considered which forbidden techniques could be useful.

• Jiraiya and Little Bunta used an oil-enhanced Flame Bullet to burn through the Cloud Ninja blocking their path as Wuzhe and Wenzhe advanced behind them.
• Wuzhe killed the Cloud Ninja squad captain after Wenzhe’s knuckle-dusters pinned him in place, and Tsunade later met Jiraiya as the eastern reinforcements arrived.
• Tsunade reported 163 immediate deaths and 375 deaths from severe injuries, with Hot Water Ninja accounting for two-thirds of the losses, while Cloud Hidden suffered at least two or three times as many casualties.
• The Third Hokage, Jiraiya, and Tsunade concluded that Cloud Hidden’s probe aimed to steal Konoha’s aircraft and communication devices, and they ordered the supplies guarded.
• Shin finished reading the authentic Book of Sealing and learned its techniques, including Impure World Reincarnation, Flying Thunder God, and the Eight Gates.

Shin replaced the seal on Kurama and won permission to go to the battlefield by outwitting the Third Hokage. Meanwhile, the Third Hokage faced a widening war and sent a message to the Kazekage as the chapter ended with Shin escaping after tricking him.

• Yi received the Third Raikage’s secret letter and decided the Cloud Village camp would strike back after two months of failed attempts to crack the enemy’s communications.
• Shin replaced the sealing talisman, taunted Kurama, and left it with screens and speakers as consolation prizes for losing to him.
• Shin told Mito that the seal had been replaced and gave her a box containing the password to open a small gap in it.
• The Third Hokage learned that the Earth Country had declared war on the Grass Country and sent an encrypted letter asking the Kazekage to send troops.
• Shin demanded permission to go to the battlefield, and the Third Hokage agreed if he could last ten minutes against him.
• Shin used two transformed Shadow Clones and his camera to distract the Third Hokage, then escaped through the office window and declared victory.

Shin attended the Uchiha gathering and mistook Cocoon’s retirement for his impending death. Cocoon’s farewell advice inspired Shin to declare himself the Uchiha Clan’s butterfly, while the clan kept the misunderstanding secret.

• Shin photographed Anbu members gambling outside the Hokage’s office, then went to Naka Shrine for a date and the Uchiha gathering.
• Cocoon recalled how Chiyuki had stopped him from pursuing clan leadership through violence and how he later supported Chiken and the younger generation.
• Shin arrived and believed Cocoon had only one day left to live, so Cocoon and Shin’s parents played along with his misunderstanding.
• Cocoon explained that he had chosen his name to become a cocoon that would hatch the Uchiha’s butterfly, and Shin vowed to become that butterfly.
• The Uchiha agreed to hide the truth from Shin, and Cocoon sent him to fetch hot pot.

Shin discovered that the Uchiha had faked Cocoon’s death with a large-scale Genjutsu, but decided to play along with their deception. Meanwhile, Orochimaru asked Sarutobi what defined a ninja and left the conversation resolved to find his own answer.

• At Naka Shrine, Cocoon proposed faking his death with a powerful Genjutsu, and Chiken and Aoko agreed to the plan.
• Shin used Sage Mode to sense across Konoha, then discovered the Uchiha clan had deceived him about Cocoon.
• Shin chose to pretend he had not noticed the deception and headed toward Naka Shrine, preparing to act.
• Orochimaru reflected on the causes of war, called Sarutobi, and asked him what the essence of a ninja was.
• Sarutobi answered that a ninja’s essence was endurance and urged Orochimaru to find his own answer; Orochimaru accepted the challenge.
• Sarutobi left the toilet feeling that the call had resolved his own confusion, while Shin reached Naka Shrine and sensed unexplained malice.

Shin arranged to take Nao from the Hyuga Clan Grounds to the battlefield in the Grass Country, while Cloud Ninja commander Yi used repeated attacks to lure Jiraiya and Sakumo west. The chapter left Yi leading his forces south as Jiraiya and Sakumo rushed west, putting Orochimaru in danger.

• After Cocoon's fake funeral, Shin met Nao by the Naka River and promised to take her openly from the Hyuga Clan Grounds to the Grass Country battlefield in three days.
• Sakumo received Jiraiya's request for reinforcements and headed east to support him against repeated Cloud Ninja assaults.
• Jiraiya and Sakumo realized the Cloud Ninja might be drawing their forces west to attack Orochimaru, so they ordered their troops to move west.
• Yi deduced that Konoha's communication equipment had limited range and confirmed his guess when Jiraiya and Sakumo moved west.
• Yi led the Cloud Ninja forces south, aiming to eliminate Konoha's northern commander and break the siege of their headquarters.

Tsunade fought Yi as the Cloud Ninja attacked Konoha’s forces, while Sakumo arrived with reinforcements and saved Ri Hu. Jiraiya and Orochimaru joined Tsunade against Yi, but he escaped under cover of a blinding flash.

• Tsunade activated the Strength of a Hundred Seal and attacked the Cloud Ninja, then began fighting their commander Yi.
• Ri Hu was cornered and wounded by a Cloud Ninja until Sakumo arrived aboard the Hagoromo and saved him.
• Sakumo led the reinforcements in a counterattack, and Ri Hu thanked him as Konoha’s White Fang.
• Jiraiya and Orochimaru joined Tsunade, forcing Yi to face the three Konoha commanders together.
• The commanders attacked Yi with ninjutsu and the Sword of Kusanagi: Sky Blade, but Yi used a blinding flash to escape.

After Yi fled the battle, the allied forces suffered heavy losses, and Orochimaru urged the survivors to retreat. Shin then confronted Meitoku for permission to take Nao to the Grass Country, promising to protect her and find a solution to the Caged Bird Seal; Meitoku stepped aside and allowed her to go.

• Yi escaped the three-way attack, and Konoha and Hot Springs Village forces pursued the retreating Cloud Ninja until near sunset.
• Tsunade, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Sakumo counted hundreds of dead and wounded, argued over their responsibility, and considered whether to retreat.
• Two days later, Shin arrived at the Hyuga compound to take Nao with him as his deputy to the Grass Country.
• Meitoku challenged Shin over taking a main-family member to war, and Shin activated Sage Mode and promised to bring Nao back unharmed.
• Shin promised to solve the Nine-Tails problem and find a better way to protect the Byakugan, and Meitoku left without stopping him.

Shin left Konoha to command forces against Iwagakure, while Nao joined him after an awkward hand-holding moment. He drove out of the village amid dance music and a pursuing crowd, leaving the Third Hokage and the Uchiha couple to wonder why people were chasing him.

• Nao imagined that Shin valued her as much as the Hyuga Clan, then took his hand as they left the Hyuga compound.
• The Third Hokage received Orochimaru's report and concluded that battlefield strategy mattered more than individual strength after the Land of Hot Water campaign ended in a draw.
• Chiken and Aoko apologized for Shin's lateness as the Third Hokage and a crowd waited at Konoha's western gate.
• Shin arrived in the Indra-Go and recalled how he had driven through the Hyuga compound while Hyuga clansmen chased after him.
• Shin turned up his remote's dial and played electronic dance music as he drove out of the gate, prompting the Third Hokage and the Uchiha couple to watch a crowd pursue him.

Shin and Nao left Konoha for the Grass Country while the Third Hokage and the Third Kazekage wagered supreme command on whether their forces would arrive first. The Sand reinforcements reached Konoha and prepared to continue by Falcon, learning that Shin was already driving ahead.

• The Third Hokage listened as the Uchiha couple joked about buying out the Hyuga Clan, then tried to calm the Hyuga figures at Konoha’s western gate after the couple fled.
• Shin and Nao drove toward the Grass Country in the Indra-Go, and Shin called Nawaki to join them.
• Garrison praised Shin to Mamba aboard the Asura as Mamba and Anko discussed their son Sasori.
• The Third Kazekage ordered Mamba’s Sand troops to transfer to the Falcon and reach the Grass Country before Shin, revealing that the two Kage had wagered supreme command.
• Mamba and Anko set off hand in hand while Garrison hurried after them.

Shin and Nao headed toward the battlefield after deciding not to submit to the Hyuga clan’s plans, while Konoha’s commanders prepared for a likely Kumogakure attack before reinforcements arrived. In Root, Danzo concluded that Hiruzen had sent Shin to Grass Country to conceal the reason Iwagakure was targeting him, and chose to act against Shin for Konoha’s sake.

• Shin received repeated calls about the Hyuga clan’s response, reassured Nao, and then accelerated the Indra-Go after they both reached a decision.
• Orochimaru learned that Hiruzen was sending three hundred Jonin and nearly a thousand Chunin to the Land of Hot Water, while Shin’s Scientific Combat Department, Nawaki, and Nao were already headed to Grass Country.
• Orochimaru told Sakumo, Jiraiya, and Tsunade that Hiruzen wanted Shin’s team to command from the rear, but they expected the team to enter the fighting and Kumogakure to strike before reinforcements arrived.
• Danzo received reports that Iwagakure was investigating Shin and that Shin was a thirteen-year-old commander.
• Danzo decided Hiruzen was hiding why Iwagakure had targeted Shin and wrote a secret letter recording Shin’s personality and Elemental Chakra Mode.

Shin welcomed Sunagakure's delegation at Kusagakure and awkwardly tried to build rapport with Mamba and Anko, while Nao's cold demeanor made their ambiguous relationship obvious. The group prepared to set out that night, leaving Shin apologizing to Nao as her icy reaction continued.

• Shin delivered an encrypted letter to Kusagakure's leader, then learned the Sunagakure delegation had arrived and agreed to depart that night.
• Shin put sunglasses on Nao before she joined him and Kusagakure's leader to greet Garrison.
• Garrison greeted Shin and brought up a gift, so Shin redirected the conversation toward the still-vomiting Nawaki.
• Garrison introduced Mamba and Anko, and Shin called Anko “Sister Anko,” prompting awkward reactions from Mamba and Nao.
• Nao insisted that she was only Shin's deputy director, while Anko's remark about young people eased the tension.
• Shin apologized to Nao, but her cold sneer left him even more uncomfortable.

Shin reconciled with Nao after upsetting her, and the two enjoyed a peaceful meal in Kusagakure. Meanwhile, Yugakure’s leader feared Kumogakure would exploit his weakened forces at the front before Konoha’s reinforcements arrived.

• Nawaki arrived in Kusagakure sick from the flight and found Shin and Nao acting unusually close.
• Shin apologized to Nao and promised not to upset her again, restoring their friendship.
• Shin and Nao shared a hot pot meal while Garrison kept Nawaki eating with him.
• Shin reflected that peace was precious, and Nao felt fortunate she had not continued their earlier duel.
• Yugakure’s leader worried that the weakened front line would not survive the night against a possible Kumogakure attack.

Yi led a large Cloud Ninja force across the border and held off Konoha’s four commanders while the main battle raged. He died standing after buying the Hidden Cloud time to fight, leaving Jiraiya and the others shaken by his resolve.

• Tsunade struggled to wait through the night, while Jiraiya, Sakumo, and Orochimaru stopped him from rushing out to check on Yi.
• After 3 a.m., Yi ordered the Cloud Ninja to attack and confronted Konoha’s four commanders, intent on delaying them.
• Wenzhe and Wuzhe fought through groups of Cloud Ninja on the distant battlefield as the fighting spread.
• Despite severe injuries, Yi kept the four commanders occupied and fought Sakumo, Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya until they brought him down.
• Jiraiya killed Yi with a kunai, and Yi died standing after declaring that the Hidden Cloud would level Konoha.

After the allied forces defeated the Cloud Ninja, Shin took command of the campaign against Stone Village and sent Team One to begin a guerrilla operation. The chapter ended with Team One turning the camp upside down during their usual chaotic antics.

• Jiraiya and Sakumo cleared the battlefield, Tsunade treated the wounded, and Orochimaru sealed Yi's body away.
• Jiraiya and Sakumo discussed the heavy losses and joked about Shin holding a music festival or DJing on the battlefield.
• Shin handed command over to Mamba after winning their bet and planned to fight Stone Village's scattered forces with quick guerrilla attacks by Team One.
• Mamba tried to stop Shin from taking the dangerous mission, but Shin vanished before he could finish speaking.
• Nawaki chased Shin through the camp, and Shin stole Nao's breakfast and milk, drawing her into the pursuit.
• Garrison told the bewildered Mamba that Team One's chaotic behavior was part of their daily life.

Shin led Team One on a mission in Earth Country and used new Sage Arts to destroy the Stone Ninja forces. Nao confirmed that every enemy had died, and Shin left the resulting lava field behind.

• Shin planted explosive spheres in Stone Ninja territory, detonated them, and hid underground as Stone Ninja gathered.
• Nao used her Byakugan to count seventy-six Stone Ninja, and Shin entered Sage Mode and attacked them.
• Shin used Sage Art: Small Crimson Flame Pillar to burn through Stone Ninja and melt their earthen and rock defenses.
• Shin unleashed Sage Art: Crimson Lotus Hell, turning the ground into a field of crystals and lava that killed the Stone Ninja.
• Nao confirmed that no enemies had survived, and Shin left without cleaning up the battlefield.

Ōnoki suspected the Four-Tails had caused the disappearances in Earth Country, deepening distrust between him and Roshi. Shin returned to Earth Country with Team One to carry out a stealth mission, aiming to exploit the rift between the Four-Tails and the Stone Ninja.

• Ōnoki connected the lava region and missing squads to a possible Four-Tails rampage, creating a rift between him and Roshi.
• Shin told Mamba and Garrison that spreading suspicion could drive Roshi away from the Stone Ninja or provoke the Four-Tails into going berserk.
• Shin, Nawaki, and Nao entered Earth Country to draw Stone Ninja toward a cave and ambush the remaining enemies.
• Shin used a Chakra-blocking arrow and blade to silently kill the Stone Ninja squad before they could raise the alarm.

Team One’s success in Earth Country led Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade to consider how Konoha could respond to the expanding war. They devised a plan to use the Hagoromo for airborne surprise attacks as they headed to Grass Country.

• Nawaki fought through a Stone Ninja squad in a cave, and Team One withdrew from Earth Country at dawn after Shin, Nawaki, and Nao had taken out enemy squads.
• The Third Hokage learned that Takigakure had declared war on Grass Country and worried that Amegakure might join the conflict.
• Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade discussed Team One’s effectiveness, and Jiraiya recalled how Shin, Nao, and Nawaki had once coordinated a long-running prank against him.
• Orochimaru proposed copying Team One’s surprise attacks, and Tsunade and Jiraiya realized the Hagoromo could let them launch airborne operations.
• Jiraiya tried to comfort Tsunade with a smile, but she elbowed him, leaving him wondering whether he was an M and she was an S.

Shin welcomed Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru, then handed them command of his forces and a supply of Chakra Rocket Launcher ammunition for the fight against Takigakure. Later, he stopped Hyuga clansmen from taking Nao away, sent them to the battlefield, and walked with her beneath the moonlight.

• Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru arrived at Shin’s camp and explained that they planned to fly around and support the battle while avoiding Earth Country.
• Shin gave the three reinforcements command of his troops and one hundred rounds for his expensive Chakra Rocket Launcher to use against Takigakure.
• More than a dozen Hyuga clansmen arrived to protect and monitor Nao, but Shin blocked them and ordered them to join the battlefield the next day.
• Shin assured the Hyuga clansmen that he would protect Nao, then took her hand and walked with her outside the camp.
• Shin and Nao exchanged remarks about the moonlight and wind as the Hyuga clansmen followed them at a distance.

Roshi joined Stone Village’s frontline after Ōnoki agreed to let him investigate the attacks, while Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade discovered Takigakure but ruled out an assault. In Earth Country, Team One continued creating lava zones and Shin disguised an attack as a supernatural encounter before a Stone Ninja Jonin was killed.

• Roshi argued with Ōnoki about the Four-Tails and asked to join the frontline, and Ōnoki agreed on the condition that he obey commands.
• Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade located Takigakure beneath a huge waterfall and decided that attacking it was a last resort.
• Nawaki cleared Stone Ninja from Team One’s construction site, while their Jonin escaped underground to report Konoha’s involvement.
• Shin expanded the underground space, pretended to be an Earth Deity, and snapped the Jonin’s kunai between two fingers.
• After a voice in Shin’s earpiece told him to finish the target, flames engulfed the retreating Stone Ninja Jonin.

Nao and Nawaki criticized Shin for prolonging a fight, while Hatake Sakumo and Hi of Kumogakure fought to a draw on the Land of Hot Water front. Sakumo and Hi parted with mutual respect, but each expected their next encounter to be a deadly battle.

• Nao and Nawaki scolded Shin for teasing an enemy instead of ending the fight quickly.
• Hatake Sakumo clashed with Hi of Kumogakure, using a lightning-infused blade to wound him before the battle continued.
• Sakumo and Hi fought until sunset, then called their forces back and acknowledged the encounter as a draw.
• Hi returned toward the Land of Lightning, reflecting that he did not blame Sakumo for Yi's death and that the Third Raikage had sent him to turn the war's fortunes.
• Sakumo returned to camp and, while his wounds were bandaged, made a decision after considering Hi and the Third Hokage's orders.